


In which Bruce is a shadow person from another dimension and still adopts (kidnaps?) children

by PrincessMariana



Series: PM's Flufftober 2020 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Batfamily (DCU), Bruce Wayne Loves Children, Fluff, Flufftober, Flufftober 2020, Gen, all the batkids are literal kids, alternate dimensions are weird like that, bruce is a shadow creature, dick is the oldest but not by age, everyone is an orphan, except jason is technically immortal in this fic, not proof read or edited, we die like Jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26770042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessMariana/pseuds/PrincessMariana
Summary: Dick lives at a manor in a strange world with his siblings and Alfred. Every so often, a new sibling shows up. No one grows up, and everyone is happy. One day, Dick sees a shadowy figure and investigates.(So much fluff.)Written for Flufftober 2020, Day 1: In the Shadows. Now with additional chapter for Day 2: Comfort.
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson
Series: PM's Flufftober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951447
Comments: 28
Kudos: 270
Collections: Flufftober2020





	1. Day 1: In the Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> I have not read through this at all, but it's super early in the morning of the day after I wanted to post this, so it is what it is. I'll proof it later. Sorry in advance for any mistakes.

Dick loved playing in the manor lawn with his siblings. They could run around, hide behind the intricately cut bushes, and splash in the fountains – when Alfred wasn’t looking, of course. Most days, the sun was out, bright and warm. Sometimes Dick would just lay on the soft grass, basking in the warmth.

But not today.

“C’mon, Jason,” Dick said, craning his neck to look at his younger brother. “Barbara wants to play hide and seek. You _gotta_ play with us. Just one round? _Please?_ ”

Jason was curled in the limbs of a tall tree with a book, predictably, on his lab. He glanced up from pages to glare at Dick. “I’m almost to the end,” Jason said grumpily.

“If you hide really, really, _really_ well, then you can just read while Babs looks for you,” Dick said. “You’ve been reading _all day_. You gotta set a good example for the littler kids.”

Jason snorted. “I’m _older_ than you.”

“Nope,” Dick said. “I’ve been here the longest, so _I’m_ the oldest. C’mon down, okay?”

It was a familiar argument, but Dick always won. All the kids brought to the manor saw Dick like a big brother. Dick was the one that urged Jason to run around more, braided Barbara’s hair, cuddled with Cass on rainy nights, and broke up fights between the siblings.

With a sigh, Jason closed the book and crawled down the tree. Dick cheered and grabbed Jason’s hand, dragging him over to the other children. “Jay’s going to play too!” Dick declared.

Steph smirked. “Just one more person for me to beat!”

“You always lose,” Tim said.

Cass nodded in agreement. Steph stuck out her tongue at them. Dick and Barbara exchanged exasperated looks. _Kids_. Never mind that Dick was ten, and Barbara was thirteen.

“I’m the seeker first,” Barbara said. “I’ll count to a hundred.”

“ _Two_ hundred,” Tim negotiated. He hugged his teddy closer to his chest. “I – I need more time.”

“’Course Timmy,” Dick said, slinging an arm around his little brother’s shoulders. “Us short kids can’t run as fast.”

Cass gave him a skeptical look. Everyone knew that Dick was the fastest of them all. He just had so much stored up energy. He was _never_ caught in tag.

“Okay. That’s fair,” Barbara said agreeable. She walked over to the tree that Jason had been on, blocking her view with the trunk. “One chimpanzee, two chimpanzee, three chimpanzee-”

At the sound of the first count, the rest of the children scattered. Even Jason, despite his initial reluctance to play, moved at full speed, his book clutched to his side.

Where the neatly trimmed grass of the manor’s lawn ended, there was a forest. It held the best hiding spots, but since Alfred always scolded them for their dirty clothes after the emerged from the forest, the rest of the children avoided that area. Tim, however, as the youngest – the _real_ youngest, ages aside – hadn’t been scolded enough by Alfred to stay away. He headed straight for the trees and froze right at the border. Dick noticed and backtracked. He’d been heading for the back gardens himself.

Dick placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder and asked softly, “What’s wrong, Timbo?”

“It’s – it’s dark,” Tim whispered back, eyes wide.

“One-hundred-and-five chimpanzee, one-hundred-and-six chimpanzee-” Barbara said from the tree.

Dick glanced at the forest. They wouldn’t be able to hide anywhere else in time, and Dick _hated_ losing, even if Alfred would give him disappointed stares. “We’ll hide together. It’ll be more fun that way!”

Tim nodded eagerly.

As they moved farther into the forest, the canopy of leaves blocked out more of the sun. When he’d first arrived at the manor, Dick had explored parts of the forest. It was peaceful, and he could cry without Alfred hearing him. But then Barbara had come, and she didn’t like to get dirty. And then Jason, who just wanted to read all the time. So, Dick had stopped exploring.

Tim grabbed Dick’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “It’s so dark,” he said nervously.

“It’s okay, Timmy,” Dick said reassuringly. “I’ll protect you.”

It was a bold claim for a ten-year-old, but Tim seemed to buy it. They found a good hiding spot behind a large, old tree trunk. Tim leaned his head against Dick’s shoulder as they waited.

“Do you think we’ll win?” Tim asked. “Steph said there was no way I could win.”

“Psycho warfare,” Dick said knowingly.

Tim scrunched up his nose. “Don’t you mean psy-cho-log-i-cal?” He pronounced each syllable careful.

Dick shrugged. “Sure.”

Tim had come from a rich family, where he’d received the best education, with tutors and stuff. Dick had come from the circus, where he’d learned how to do backflips. He’d been illiterate when he’d first come to the manor, but Alfred had taught how to read, as well as some other subjects that Dick would never use.

They sat there, quietly telling each other childish jokes and stories, for what felt like _hours._ Eventually, Dick nudged Tim and asked, “Check the time? I think we hid _too_ well.”

Tim pulled out his father’s pocket watch that he carried everywhere with him. It was comically big in Tim’s hands. Dick peered over at it. “Wow, it’s late,” Dick said. “We should get back before Alfred worries.”

“Does that mean we won?” Tim said eagerly.

“Definitely,” Dick said. “We’re hide and seek _professionals_ now.”

“Awesome,” Tim said with a grin. He jumped up. “I can’t wait to tell Steph!”

Dick was glad that Tim had overcome his fear of the dark woods. Maybe he could convince Tim to explore with him the next day. They’d have to figure out how to keep their clothes clean, though. A cursory glance over both of them confirmed that Alfred would not be pleased when he saw them tonight.

The forest was really dark now, but fortunately Tim had a good sense of direction. “My parents sent me to my cousin in France every summer,” Tim explained. “He’d take me camping and stuff. Mother didn’t approve, but Father thought it was a good experience.”

Tim didn’t like to talk about his life before the manor, but Dick knew that Tim’s parents had been mostly absent when they’d been alive. It might be wrong, but Dick was secretly glad that they’d died, so that Tim could be happy at the manor with all their siblings and Alfred.

Something moved in the moved. Dick stopped walking and turned, trying to find it in the darkness.

“Why’d you stop?” Tim said.

“I thought I saw…Never mind. Sorry. Let’s keep going.”

Barely a minute later, Dick saw it again. He spun around.

“What is it?” Tim said, nervous again. “What are you seeing?”

“I…” Dick scanned the trees. It was too dark to make out much. “I… don’t know.”

“Do you – do you think the forest is haunted?” Tim said fearfully.

Dick wasn’t sure, but he gave Tim a bright smile. “Of course not. Alfred would’ve told us. He’s lived here _forever_.”

Tim obviously didn’t believe him. “O-okay.”

They started walking, and the flicker of movement kept following them all the way back to the manor lawn, but Dick pretended not to see it, for Tim’s sake. The sun was almost out of view when they emerged from the forest. Dick stared at the trees one last time until Tim tugged him away.

“Let’s _go_ ,” Tim pleaded.

In the manor, Tim and Dick declared victory over their win. Alfred scolded them for staying out so late, and their dinner was cold, but Dick and Tim didn’t mind. A win was a win.

+++

That night, Dick snuck out of bed. His curiosity about whatever he’d seen kept him awake. He had to investigate!

“I _knew_ it!”

Dick froze with his hand on the backdoor’s doorknob. He looked over his shoulder. Jason, dressed in night clothes, was behind him, arms crossed and scowling.

“What’re you doing here?” Dick whispered. “Go back to bed.”

“Timmy said that you saw ghosts. I _knew_ you’d do something stupid, like try to sneak out,” Jason said.

“Keep your voice down. We don’t want to wake Alfred,” Dick said.

“Maybe I should wake Alfred,” Jason said. “You’re breaking the rules.”

“I’ve never seen anything weird when the sun’s been up, so I’m just going to check it out while it’s still dark,” Dick said. “I’ll be in and out. It’ll be like I was never gone.”

“Aflie will know,” Jason said.

Dick shrugged. “Worth it. So, either you go back to bed, or you come with me. I don’t care, but _I’m_ going.”

Dick opened the door and slipped out. He could hear Jason muttering angrily to himself before Jason followed Dick outside. “This is a dumb plan,” Jason grumbled, closing the door quietly.

“You mean a _fun_ plan,” Dick said cheerfully. “C’mon!”

The forest was even darker now, but Dick had had the foresight to bring a lantern. Dick kept darting ahead, trying to get deeper into the forest faster. Jason eventually grabbed the lantern from him. “Stop moving so damn fast,” Jason snapped. “We shouldn’t get separated.”

Dick giggled. “You swore!”

Jason had grown up on the streets before coming to the manor. Upon arrival, Jason had taught Barbara and Dick all kinds of new words, and Alfred hadn’t been pleased. Alfred had set up a punishment system where each time Jason – or any of the children, but it was mostly Jason – swore, Jason had to write out lines. _I will not swear_. Over and over. It was the _worst_.

“We’re going to be in way more trouble over this than saying bad words,” Jason said. 

He was probably right.

Since Jason now had the light, Dick couldn’t run up ahead without getting lost, so Dick grudgingly stayed by Jason’s side. “See anything?” Dick asked while they walked.

“Nope,” Jason said. “It was probably just in your head. There ain’t no such thing as ghosts.”

“How do you know?” Dick said. “My granny told me that sometimes people die, and they have unfinished business, and so they wander the world, looking to cause trouble.”

“Those’re just stories to scare kids,” Jason said.

“Ghosts don’t scare me,” Dick said. “We’re safe here. I – Oh, hey!”

Dick pointed to where he’d seen something move. Jason brandished the lantern in that direction. “Over there?”

“Yeah!” Dick scampered forward and looked around. “I don’t see it anymore.”

“It’s a figment of your-” Jason spun around, lantern raised high. “I saw something too!”

“Told ya!” Dick said cheerfully. “We’re gonna have to move faster to catch it. There it goes! C’mon, Jay!”

Dick was much faster than Jason, and he forgot to stay with the light. Soon, he couldn’t see the lantern anymore, and it was too dark to see anything move. He could barely see his hands in front of his face. “Whoops,” Dick said to himself.

“Dick!” he heard Jason call from far away.

“Over here!” Dick shouted. He hurried in the direction of his brother’s voice, tripping over tree roots and sticks as he went. “I’m coming to-!”

He screamed as he tried to take his next step and his foot met only air. He tumbled down into the darkness. As his head hit something hard, he heard Jason’s voice, too far away, and everything went black.

+++

When Dick woke up, everything _hurt_. It took him a moment to remember why he wasn’t in his bedroom. “Alfie’s going to _kill_ me,” he said out loud. “This is worse than the thing with the chandelier.”

As he tried to sit up, his head spun. He touched his head, and it was wet and sticky. That…probably wasn’t good. He could see better than before. The canopy of trees was less thick in the muddy ravine that he’d fallen into, but it still wasn’t bright enough to see if the sticky stuff was blood. Maybe it was sap or some kind of clay? Dick was going to stay optimistic.

Something moved in the shadows. “Wait!” Dick called. “Please. I’m alone here and lost, so it’d be nice if someone else was here too. And I really, _really_ want to see who you are.”

The ravine was still for a long moment, and then the shadows shifted again, this time towards Dick. Dick squinted, trying to make out the figure that emerged from the darkness. “You look familiar. You…” Dick frowned, trying to remember where he remembered the shadowy figure from. “You saved me from Zucco!”

The figure stayed still but still defined in the darkness. Dick kept talking. He was good at that. “And you’d sometimes come to my bedroom, after I’d have nightmares. Before Barbara came, at least. I remember now. And I’d come into the forest, and you’d sit with me while I cried.”

The figure didn’t respond.

“Can you speak?” Dick asked. “Do you have a name? Who – _what_ are you? Why’d you go away, after Barbara came?”

Dick had to bite his lip while he waited for an answer. He was so _curious,_ but he didn’t want to overwhelm the figure with questions he – it? she? – might not be able to answer.

“My name is Bruce,” the figure said in a voice that didn’t sound human. It was too deep and cavernous. Dick couldn’t quite describe it.

“Nice to meet you!” Dick said eagerly. “I’m Dick Grayson.”

“I know,” Bruce said. “I brought you here.”

“To the woods?” Dick said.

“To the manor.”

Dick’s eyes went wide. “But I thought – didn’t Alfred bring me?”

Dick couldn’t remember much after confronting his parents’ killer. He remembered Zucco’s knife, and then a shadowy figure, and then waking up in the manor, with Alfred at his bedside.

“Alfred can’t leave this realm anymore,” Bruce said. “I found you – and the others – and brought you here to be safe.”

“Gosh, we really owe you a lot,” Dick said, because his parents had taught him to be grateful to those who were kind. “Thank you.”

“It is nothing,” Bruce said. The shadows shifted around as if uncomfortable.

“Not really,” Dick said, but he let it go. “Why don’t you visit us in the manor or play with us? You used to sing to me, I think. Why’d you go away?”

“You have Alfred. You don’t need me around,” Bruce said.

“What do you do all day then?” Dick asked.

“I…sometime visit Earth to give justice to the suffering,” Bruce said. “That is how I found you and your siblings.”

“Why’d you bring us? Not that I’m not grateful. It’s _amazing_ here,” Dick said. He’d always suspected that the manor wasn’t on Earth. Time passed differently, and they didn’t age in the traditional sense. But he was more curious about Bruce.

Bruce was silent for a long moment before saying, quietly, “You were first. I saw you, surrounded by darkness and without a home, so I brought you to my home. After you…I kept finding children that also needed a home.”

“You should play with us,” Dick said decisively. “Since this is your home, you should have fun too.”

“My presence would not be welcome. Children bring light, but I am darkness,” Bruce said in a sad rumble.

“That’s silly,” Dick declared. “My brothers and sisters would love you. You’re old, so you could probably keep up with Jason as he talks about his books. Barbara always needs a chess partner, because I hate chess, and Alfred is usually busy. Steph is still getting over her crappy parents, so it’d be good for her to have an adult who isn’t Alfred around. Cass likes to sit quietly with people, but we’re all kids, so we don’t do quiet. And Tim is scared of everything, so having a literal shadow to scare away all the scary things would be awesome for him.”

“What about you?” Bruce said.

Dick shrugged. “I dunno.” He thought for a long moment. “I’m the oldest, so sometimes it’s hard to keep an eye on everyone. So, I guess I’d like a partner. You’d be good at it, since you’re already our protector.”

Bruce hummed noncommittally.

“You could just try it,” Dick bargained. “Just for a little bit. If you don’t like it, that’s fine.”

“…Alright, chum.”

Dick cheered. “This’ll be swell. You’ll see!”


	2. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short snippet, where Bruce helps Dick sleep during Dick's first night at the manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was really stuck on the comfort prompt for Flufftober, but then AvengetheDirection's comment inspired this little snippet.

Bruce stayed in the shadows as he watched Alfred put Bruce’s new ward to bed. Dick’s eyes were wide and scared, as they had been since he’d woken up in the manor that morning. Alfred didn’t seem fazed by the child’s anxious staring. He merely pulled the blankets to Dick’s chin and then tucked them around Dick’s small body.

“Should you need anything, Master Dick, call for me, and I will hear you,” Alfred said. “Good night.”

Dick’s mouth opened a little, as if ready to echo the sentiment, but no sound came out. Since arriving, Dick had hardly said a word. Bruce didn’t know enough about children to know if that was normal.

Dick had been a warm, talkative child before his parents had died. His bright presence had attracted Bruce to the circus in the first place. It had been a soothing reprieve from the cruel men that Bruce had just fought and locked away. That reprieve hadn’t last long.

Alfred turned off the lamp at Dick’s bedside, and the room plunged into darkness. When Alfred left the room, Bruce allowed himself to expand his presence through the darkness. He would watch over Dick now, keep him safe while the child slept.

But Dick did not sleep. As soon as the door shut behind Alfred, Dick curled up on his side and began to shake. Bruce had seen humans sleep before, but he had never witnessed this strange ritual. Bruce leaned in for a closer look. Dick didn’t notice him. It was impossible to see the shifting of shadow without any light.

Dick buried his face in his pillow and started _crying_. Bruce stiffened in dread. He was familiar with crying. Humans cried when very distressed or, rarely, when overcome by joy. Bruce doubted it was the latter. He had watched Dick cry at the sight of his parents’ broken bodies and at the short burial service. After that, Dick had wiped away his tears and shown little emotion during the hunt for his parents’ murderer.

Bruce wondered anxiously why the boy was crying now, when he was finally safe. No one and nothing could get to Dick here. Bruce had heard Alfred explain that to the boy. Had Dick not understood? Time and disease would never touch the boy again.

Perhaps the child was uncomfortable? Was the room not to his liking? Bruce had formed the manor out of boredom, what felt like a millennia ago. Alfred had moved in, for no particular reason besides curiosity, and he seemed comfortable. Alfred was the closest thing to a human in this realm, before Dick had come. But maybe they had missed something essential to a human child.

Bruce would tear down the manor and rebuild it into something completely different, if that would make Dick stop crying.

Dick continued to sob silently into his pillow. “I – I m-m-miss you, Mami and – and Papi,” Dick choked out in a quiet voice, muffled by the pillow. “Why’d you l-leave me?”

Bruce could never replace Dick’s parents, nor make up for their deaths. There was nothing he could do to ease Dick’s sorrow, but he still wanted to try. Bruce had watched parents comfort their offspring, and he tried to mimic their behavior.

Carefully, he allowed his presence to gently rest around Dick, cradling the child in a cocoon of darkness. To Bruce’s surprise and relief, some tension left Dick’s body, and the boy’s eyes fluttered shut. Bruce brushed a shadowy hand through Dick’s hair and softly sang an old song he’d once heard in his travels to Earth.

When the tears finally stopped, and Dick drifted into a deep slumber, Bruce ended the song, but he held his new ward the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> The ending was a bit abrupt, mostly because I have work in, like, 5 hours, and I haven't slept yet. Whoops. I might write more in this 'verse, if inspiration hits and people are interested.
> 
> Kudos and comments brighten my day like how Dick brightens Bruce's world. :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Nightmare and the Boy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156232) by Anonymous 




End file.
